President Reagan's day of mourning settled
County officials to be paid for day off
Mary Margaret Moorhead - Staff Writer

Acting on what could have been a highly controversial issue, Commissioners John Little, Chuck Folz, and Robert Reiners agreed at their Monday, June 21, meeting that salaried county employees would receive their pay for Friday, June 12, when the Ripley County Courthouse was closed for President Ronald Reagan's memorial.

While Commissioners Little and Reiners attended a mandatory budget meeting in Indianapolis during the week of June 7-12, Commissioner Folz made the decision to close the courthouse for the Reagan commemoration. When this became an issue, Folz readily took the blame.

Folz said at both the Ripley County Council meeting on Tuesday,
June 15, and the commissioners' meeting on June 21 that he had tried to contact the other two commissioners, who were not available because of the budget meeting.

Speaking with other county officials, he made the decision that the courthouse would be closed. That message was aired over area radio stations, making it difficult to rescind the decision.
When other county offices - the Ripley County Sheriff's Department, the County Highway Department, the Planning Commission, and several others - worked as usual, the dilemma became a controversy aired during the council meeting on Tuesday.

At the beginning of Monday's commissioners' meeting most of the elected officials: Judge Carl Taul, Judge James Morris, Assessor
Shawna Bushhorn, Clerk Ginger Bradford, Recorder Tammy Borgman, Treasurer Earline Copeland, several deputies in the courthouse offices, and some board of health employees filled the boardroom in anticipation of the commissioners' decision. Auditor Mary Ann McCoy was present to record minutes.

After Judge Morris had spoken for the courthouse employees, President John Little said the commissioners had made their decision: People on salary would be paid for the day. Those on hourly salaries, clerical or part time employees would not be paid. "No salaried or part time people get paid for holidays or vacations anyway," he noted.

In other business during the commissioners' meeting, Paul Anderson representing Ripley County Farm Bureau asked for the county's support in keeping CSX Railroad from removing the tracks throughout county areas. Most believe their removal will not be conducive to economic development.

Commissioners agreed to write a letter to CSX supporting the Ripley County Farm Bureau's opinion on this matter.

A representative from Heart House Inc. Homeless Shelter in Aurora presented information on the service given to Ripley County and requested inclusion in the 2005 budget.

John Grause representing Apex discussed the county's insurance and will bring back quotes from his company so the commissioners can make comparisons.

Technology Coordinator Kelly Vollet and Planning Commission Director Tadd Brinson updated the commissioners on their departments. Custodian Gene Bishop also reported on projects at the courthouse and the annex.